PHILADELPHIA - The characteristics that always stick out about Dorial Green-Beckham are his size and his speed - and his potential.

But Green-Beckham, who is 6-foot-5, 237 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, has never lived up to that potential. That includes outleaping defenders in the back of the end zone, or catching a pass across the middle and outrunning the rest of the defense.

The potential is why the Eagles traded for Green-Beckham last August when they were desperate at wide receiver. That's also why the Eagles say they haven't given up on Green-Beckham despite a disappointing season in which he had just 36 catches for 392 yards.

"I'm encouraged with DGB. I'm a fan. He has traits that are unique in his size and length and his strength. You saw it a few times last year. Every now and then, when we're watching the clips from last year, you see he's hard to tackle. Once he gets a ball, he's so big and strong, and he's athletic and he's got good feet for a guy who's that big."

But the Eagles' actions during the offseason indicate that they're not going to wait forever. Green-Beckham is one of seven receivers fighting for five or six spots. The Eagles added four new receivers during the offseason - free agents Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and draftees in Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson.

The Eagles also have Jordan Matthews, their leading receiver the past two seasons, and Nelson Agholor, their first-round pick in 2015. Agholor has also been a disappointment. But the Eagles would suffer a cap hit of more than $4 million by releasing Agholor. They can release Green-Beckham for nothing.

"Yeah, it is crowded [at wide receiver]," Reich said. "And this is the NFL. It's competitive, and that's a position that we needed some more productivity out of this year, and so I think we did a good job of making that a competitive room this year."

Green-Beckham knows all of this, and he's determined to prove that he belongs.

"I feel that overall, I never really had a chance to be on a team for more than two years," Green-Beckham said. "I feel like this is my chance to show that. And coming back with the same offense, all that stuff is going to help me."

Most of that unfulfilled potential has been Green-Beckham's fault. In 2013, he was kicked off the team while in college at Missouri because of a domestic violence charge and two drug arrests. He sat out the next season at Oklahoma under NCAA transfer rules, then decided to enter the NFL draft, where he was taken in the second round by the Tennessee Titans.

Green-Beckham had a promising rookie season, with 32 catches for 569 yards and 4 TDs.

But Green-Beckham fell out of favor with the coaching staff, in part because of his work ethic. The Titans traded him to the Eagles just three weeks before the 2016 season. That left Green-Beckham to learn his fourth new offensive system in four seasons.

The Eagles certainly didn't do him any favors. They only had one other receiver with more experience last season, and that was Matthews, who was in his third season. They also had a rookie wide receivers coach in Greg Lewis, who has since been replaced by Mike Groh.

Also, when the Eagles acquired Green-Beckham Sam Bradford was the starting quarterback. Two weeks later, he was traded and Carson Wentz became the QB.

"Coming in with a short period of time, yeah, that stuff takes longer," Green-Beckham said. "So me coming back this year, knowing the same offense, I’m not out there thinking. I’m just out there playing football, having fun and using the older guys as my resources."

Green-Beckham was then asked if he has shown his true potential yet.

"I haven’t gotten the chance to show that yet," Green-Beckham said. "But I feel like this year is a big year. It’s coming. To be continued."

It remains to be seen if that will be with the Eagles or another team willing to take a chance on Green-Beckham's size, speed, and potential.

Eagles sign DT as another is injured

It wasn't planned that way, but the Eagles signed defensive tackle Gabe Wright on Monday morning, just hours before starting defensive tackle Tim Jernigan limped off the field with an apparent foot injury.

The extent of Jernigan's injury isn't known. But the Eagles were already short-handed at the spot this spring with Beau Allen tearing a pectoral muscle during the offseason and sixth-round draft pick Elijah Qualls barred from the OTAs because his class hasn't graduated yet.

Wright, who's 6-3, 299 pounds, was the Detroit Lions' fourth-round pick out of Auburn in 2015. Detroit traded up with the Eagles to draft him, sending the Eagles a third-round pick in 2016. The Eagles included that pick in the trade package for Wentz. Wright played in five games for the Cleveland Browns last season.

Wing tips

Running back Darren Sproles, who missed OTAs last week, returned. But LT Jason Peters, DE Marcus Smith, and punter Donnie Jones stayed away for a third straight week. Next week the Eagles have a mandatory minicamp and players can be fined for missing it... WR Jordan Matthews continued to miss practice with knee tendinitis. He didn't practice last week. LB Mychal Kendricks also wasn't at practice. He was limited last week with a hamstring injury.